Culture as a Significant Determinant of Diversity - Assignment Example

Part 1: reflection Reasons for studying at university For a person to embark on high level of success throughout their personal and professional lives, an in-depth understanding of the concepts relating to self-development is required. When I enrolled for this module, it was like wadding in to the unfamiliar waters, but with time and unique delivery content I immediately settled. Teaching forms an integral part in human resource development, not only that but also it acts as a critical contributor to the imparting of general knowledge, technical skills, social skills, indigenous knowledge and holistic development of human beings and the society at large. The teacher often becomes the integral focal point of oscillation as he or she acts as the link between knowledge and the student. I decided precisely to enroll to university so as to sharpen my soft and technical skills. This is coupled with the high reputation of the university in content delivery. Technical skills comprises of specialized areas of knowledge and expertise and the ability to apply that knowledge. Technical skills are acquired through formal education, through training and job experience Depending on the position of an employee in the management hierarchy, all have a part to play and thus they need some technical management skill. Soft skills are skills over and above the technical knowledge and expertise in the chosen field, required for an individual to relate to and survive and succeed in his or her environment. These include leadership, empathy, communication skills, negotiation skills, conflict resolution amongst others. The above will help me in my career goal of gathering relevant professional skills and knowledge. These skills would expediently go a long way to empower me perform my designated duties above board. In addition, it will enable me to utilize my acquired skill in conjunction with my colleagues for the continuous growth and development of the community and the country at large. Thirdly, I would wish to work in a vibrant environment and/or organization that encourage capacity building, present opportunities to practice and improve my educational knowledge and acquire new skills so that I can scale greater heights. Lastly, I long to work in a challenging environment, turning problems into solutions and opportunities through a joint effort, creativity and innovation for best results while upholding integrity, ethical standards and professionalism. These dreams are only possible with a refined education imparted on me so that I can effectively utilize them. Past learning practices and how they are changing From the course, I have learnt my interpersonal skills. I have learnt that I lean towards the practical aspects of work than the theoretical as I find it easy to give tangible examples to change a situation. I seek the best solution for all in difficult situations as it is the achievement and end result that motivate me and I try to make everyone feel the same. This works for me all the time and make me gain greater influence, and everyone sees how effective my ideas can be. To me, practically tackling the problem makes the tasks less difficult, and the environment more appealing and conducive to getting good results. Before taking up the course, I was unable to identify what sort of conflict resolution and pressure handling skills I had, yet now I know the theoretical aspects of personality analysis, I can judge the traits within myself in a better way. The module has contributed toward pinpointing of my strengths and weaknesses in the manner I never knew before. I learnt that I am hands on person and get high percentage of things done when trying them out. I achieve the anticipated results even though I find it difficult in the start. I feel at home trying something new using my own initiative to achieve required results. I am good at resolving conflicts amongst the members of the team and therefore present solutions to the problems that arise from within the work group. I welcome constructive feedback and work upon the elements of improvement which are important. Along with the identification of strengths, a number of weaknesses were also pointed out by me during the module study. I am good at handling pressure when I work as a team leader or manager, yet it is often difficult for me to work in the supervision of others. At times I tend to get indulged in so much of discussion that the tasks are delayed. I maintain distance with people around to a level at times which annoys others and they develop a negative perception of me in their minds, this often results in development of friction between me and the members of the team. I tend to overlook some important aspects of the task in trying out new things and do not go in detail of all the aspects of work when needed which is not good enough. Other things that demonstrate my learning and or engagement with this course In this section, I will explore what I have gained, the difficulties and ease involved I came across and type of knowledge, benefits and challenges I faced in my learning process. My engagement with the unit has been wonderful as I have had a variety of works to undertake, and so many areas of knowledge to explore. The various areas of knowledge which were advanced touched on personal-management competencies which focused on the skills related to interpersonal relationship management. The module exposed how a person could pin point his strengths and weaknesses and be positioned to maximize on the strengths and minimize the weak points. The course instructor provided researched information and knowledge on self-development areas through various individual and group assignments, activities and class lectures. The notable non academic contribution that I have learnt is the ability to interact with different people from different background. This in itself is a life time journey that exposes me of what is to be experienced in the life after university. Numerous students are from different cultural background in Australia. In addition, some have come to study from various countries which have their own set cultures and norms, this way the course provided me with great learning on the diversity and inclusion aspects of personality. The course offered an insight on areas of learning and reflection so that the student can easily identify with and develop their learning styles which will guide them in getting to know better their areas of expertise. I also identified my learning style which I actually did not know earlier and that is the learning style of pragmatist where I tend to explore things and learn new ways of doing the same work, focus on innovation and try taking risks though taking the start is often difficult for me. The course has enabled me to be a holistic individual which is a requisite for today’s profession. I have learnt new concepts that include soft skills, such as how to manage communication, culture and consultation approach. The delivery of concepts by the tutors, created a friendlier learning environment that entices one to yarn for more. In a nutshell, the module achieved the intended benefits of helping the students gain an in-depth understanding of the concepts relating to self-development and the skills that are required by individuals to embark high level of success throughout their personal and professional lives. Part 2: essay Introduction Culture is a significant determinant of diversity. Cultural diversity enriches our societies, work places and schools in various ways. The advent of globalization through reduction of physical barriers by transportation and communication has greatly aided in cross cultural interaction (Horwitz & Horwitz, 2007, p.988). Definitions of culture revolve around the patterns of beliefs and behaviour of people of a specified cultural background (Sims & Gegez, 2004, p.254). Culture can be a major source of conflict in our environment if not properly understood and handled. Cultural diversity of people in any environment arises from their belief systems, social relationships, languages, institutions and organizations as well as their material possessions such as cloths, machines, buildings, food among others. As such, culture is a learned way of life usually shared by a group. The group thus share a common interest with regard to religious beliefs, gender, professionalism and ethnic origin among others (Kochan, 2003, p.4). Therefore, our cultural background greatly influences our daily lives and how we relate with our colleagues and co workers in a culturally diverse place (Sheikh and Gatrad, 2008). This paper explores how understanding of the values, beliefs and practices of different cultures benefit learners in Australian universities. People enrol into educational institutions so as to be holistically shaped. The shaping comes in the form of technical skills, soft skills and general knowledge. Globally, one of the currently themes that are encouraged word wide is unity in diversity. One can not talk of diversity without being at least aware of other people’s culture. For diversity to be encouraged so that reduction of cultural friction can be achieved, people have got to be proactive in learning other people’s way of life. The Australian Government, Department of Immigration and Citizenship argue that diversity is based on the principles of equal opportunity. These principles are those that seek to include the diverse characteristics of the people such as ethnicity, race, gender, intellectual or physical abilities, age and cultural background. The department also recognizes that diversity entails other ways in which the people may differ. These may include education, life experiences, personality, marital status, family obligations, socio-economic backgrounds and religious beliefs among others. The Australian Government, Department of Immigration and Citizenship regard diversity as a concept that enables them to recognize uniqueness, promote inclusion and look into the future (The Australian Government, Department of Immigration and Citizenship, 2011). Currently the world is globalizing at a higher rate. People are seeking knowledge and working in different parts of the world or even a country. This calls for individual ability to share information horizontally and vertically with a lot of ease. Cummings (2004, p.352) note that culturally diverse environment increases the value of information sharing. According to Cummings, this is so because a culturally diverse environment through distinct roles, affiliations, as well as positions exposes the diverse group to unique information and knowledge. By actively sharing this unique information and knowledge, the performance of diverse work groups is likely to improve. This kind of scenario is applicable in Australian universities which has exhibited high level of cultural diversity. This if well adopted by the students or administration, can help in expanding the level of information sharing and cultural awareness since barriers to communication in cultural perspective is reduced. In addition, this adds value to student life after the university since he is able to work and adapt to different cultural environments. The other benefits that might arise as a result of understanding of the values, beliefs and practices of different cultures by a Australian university student is the opportunity to learn appropriate public behaviours. Places like university consist of diverse people who perceive things differently depending on their culture and socialization process. For instance how people value personal contact or closeness varies from one community to another. Observing appropriate behaviour at public places is critical for harmonious co-existence. One appropriate public behaviour that is stressed at levels is the anti discrimination policy. Australia is a multi racial nation and this is entrenched in into the anti discrimination act & equal opportunities act and thus all are equal. Discrimination includes any form of distinction, restriction, exclusion or preference made in relation to a person’s particular attribute such as race, impairment, gender, age, religious beliefs and body shape & size (The Australian Government, Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, 2008). Being exposed to and aware of cultural diversity has both internal benefits and external benefits. Internally, diversity enables people to have multiple perspectives on various issues, problem solving and decision making in any organization. These multiple perspectives arise from both the primary and the secondary dimensions of diversity that exist within a diverse environment. Availability of such diverse perspectives enables people to make informed decisions (Richard et al., 2004, p.260). The above kind of scenario is a plus towards the development of soft/ social/ interpersonal skills. Ramesh (2010, p. 2), starts with identifying the importance of soft skills in an individual and its relation to career success. The question that lingers on his mind is that why do some people be successful yet they have limited education. He draws an observation that emotions and emotional intelligence are important and affects how we interact and perceive things in the environment. Those who have higher emotional intelligence which translates to effective social skills are more prosperous and effective. He defines soft skills as “those skills over and above the technical knowledge and expertise in the chosen field, required for an individual to relate to and survive and succeed in his or her environment” (Ramesh, 2010, p. 3). He observes that soft skills are built on attitude, manifested through communication and polished through etiquette. Research has shown that diversity enables people to perform better. Diverse people in diverse groups are more creative than homogenous ones. They also perform much better in decision making and problem solving than their homogenous counterparts (Coffey, n.d, p.10). Being aware of cultural diversity improves the understanding of student towards their fellow students, as well as those whom they interact with (Ditomaso & Post, 2004, p.1). This understanding minimizes complaints and grievances amongst people. With the increased out put, it means the level of academic achievement of the students will be higher. Apart from the later, students who are exposed to multicultural environment tend to be more understanding and accommodative. This kind of understanding and accommodation is what is needed in the global labour market as it allows for the full realization of synergies. Team building and leadership are integral part of learning. This affirms the concept that leadership deals with the future ideas, people and personalities (Gillard, 2009, p. 726). These can only be achieved if one is aware of other people’s culture. Finally, the essence of acquiring knowledge is not only through personal reading and research but through horizontal information flow. Consequently, a student who is able to learn diverse culture is able to capitalize on this and build strong command in various aspects of social and academic life. With the ability to interact with diverse people, the student is in prime position to consolidate his/her interpersonal relationship with others. Conclusion Cultural background greatly influences how we interact with other people. While we have universally accepted values and norm, different cultures have got different values and norms. To avoid this kind of culture shock and conflict it is advisable for students to be proactive in learning and appreciating other people’s culture. This would contribute to the international reputation of the country as one of the diverse and accommodative nation. Australia is one of the culturally diverse nations. Thus, one expects to meet different people from different cultural background. To be able to interact with these diverse one has to accept and respect other people’s culture. Hence, understanding of other people’s culture by Australian university students is a sure way of building a unified society free from discrimination based on race, gander, religion or language. As noted being aware of other people’s culture contribute to a productive environment, harmonious existence and realization of synergy. Thus, it would be prudent for the universities and students to take individual initiative of trying to at least know one extra culture from his/hers as a means of embracing positive change. Bibliography Coffey, G. (n.d). Diversity and Inclusion in the VA Workforce. Retrieved on December 12th 2011 from: www.diversity.va.gov/training/files/diversity-inclusion-in-va.ppt Cummings, J.N. (2004). Work Groups, Structural Diversity, and Knowledge Sharing in a Global Organization, Management Science, 50 (3): 352-364. Ditomaso, N & Post, C. (2004). Diversity in the Workforce. Amsterdam: Elsevier Ltd. Gillard, S. (2009). “Soft skills and technical expertise of effective project manager”, Issues in informing science and information and technology, Vol. 6, Retrieved on 12th December 2011 from: http://iisit.org/Vol6/IISITv6p723-729Gillard599.pdf. Horwitz, S.K & Horwitz, I.B. (2007). The Effects of Team Diversity on Team Outcomes: A Meta-Analytic Review of team Demography. Journal of Management, 33(1): 987-1015. Retrieved on December 12th 2011 from: http://www.sagepub.com/vaughnstudy/articles/dair/Horwitz.pdf Kochan, T. et al. (2003). The Effects of Diversity on Business Performance: Report of the Diversity Research Network, Human Resource Management, 42(1): 3-21. Retrieved on, December 12th 2011 from: http://esd.mit.edu/Headline/diversity_paper_wins/diversity_paper.pdf. Ramesh, M. (2010). The ace of soft skills: communication and etiquette for success. Noida, Dorling Kindersly. Richard, C et al. (2004). Cultural Diversity in Management, Firm Performance, and the moderating role of entrepreneurial Orientation Dimensions. Academy of Managerial Journal, 47 (2): 255-266. Retrieved on, December 12th 2011 from: http://misweb.cbi.msstate.edu/~COBI/faculty/users/tbarnett/AMJ2004.pdf Sheikh, A & Gatrad, A.R. (2008). Caring for Muslim Patients, Oxford: Radcliffe Publishing Ltd Sims, R.L & Gegez, A.E (2004). Attitudes Towards Business Ethics: A Five Nation Comparative Study, Journal of Business Ethics, Vol. 50 pp. 253–265 The Australian Government, Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs. (2008). when I’m at work: work place behaviours trainers guide. Retrieved on December 12th 2011 from: http://www.fahcsia.gov.au/sa/disability/pubs/documents/consumertrainingsupportproduct s/docs/employees/workplace_behaviours_trainers_guide.pdf The Australian Government, Department of Immigration and Citizenship. (2011). Workplace Diversity Strategy. Retrieved on, December 12th 2011 from: http://www.immi.gov.au/about/plans/workplace- diversity/workplace_diversity_strategy_2011-2013.pdf Read More